Sponge rubber scrimmage caps



April 1 1969 M. M. GRANT SPONGE RUBBER SCRIMMAGE CAPS F1led Jan. 20.1966 United States Patent O 3,435,460 SPONGE RUBBER SCRIMMAGE CAPS MunroM. Grant, Elyria, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Athlefic Specialty Company,Elyra, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 521,974Int. Cl. A42b 1/08; A42c /00 U.S. Cl. 23 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSRE There is disclosed herein a protective device for 3. footballhelmet comprising a hemispherical cap adapted to fit over the crown ofthe helmet and means carried by the cap for detachably engaging the carapertures of the helmet.

My invention relates to a protective cap to be worn on or with afootball helmet or the like and relates more particularly to a capadapted for use in scrimmage.

The improved cap of my invention is snapped over the hard outside helmetcrown, giving both the wearer and opponent added protection in scrimmageas Well as protecting the finish of the helmet; and such caps may bemade in dilerent colors to distinguish the several teams involved inscrimmage.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a scrimmage cap for helmetsof the type referred to having a shockabsorbing material in the form ofsponge, foam rubber or the like encasing the same in plastic material,such as urethylene, vinyl, or the like, weather-sealing theshock-absorbing material and protecting it against tear or damage.

Other objects of my invention are to provide the cap of the typereferred to which can be worn externally over the helmet and which canbe easily secured to or detached from said helmet and to secure the samein such manner on the helmet as to enable the cap to be worn with anyhelmet of conventional design.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cap of the type referredto in which the cap is resiliently retained on the helmet.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a cap of the typereferred to which will be relatively simple in construction, beingcomposed of but few parts, easily assembled, and highly efficient inuse.

Other objects of my invention Will become more readily apparent byreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein my invention isillustrated and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a helmet with the improved cap of myinvention secured thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the cap of my invention, which is attached asshown in FIGURE 1 to a helmet;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the helmet securing means of the cap;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 55 of FIGURE 4 withthe helmet omitted from the showing.

Referring now to the drawings, in all of which like parts are designatedby like reference characters, 1 desig- 3,435,460 Patented Apr. 1, 1969mates a helmet of conventional type to which the improved scrimmage capis secured.

Said cap is, as illustrated in FIGURE 2, generally semi-circular inform, composed of a crown section 3 integrally formed With a skirtportion 4.

The protective cap, it Will be observed by reference to FIGURE 1, fitsover the crown and sides of the helmet terminating a spaced distanceabove the car apertures and above the forehead portion of the helmet andabove the lower back portion of the helmet, as best shown in FIGURE 1.The protective cap as shown in FIGURE 5, comprises a dome-shaped portion5 of sponge rubber, encased in plastic material of similar form; andsaid plastic casing may be of the same material, both externally andinternally of the resilient portion 5, or the external and internalcovering therefore may be of different types of plastic material, ifdesired.

Said internal and external casing members for the sponge portion 5 anddesignated at 6 and 7, are integrally secured around their outer edgesto form a sealed weatherprotecting covering for the said resilientdome-shaped cap member 5.

Fastening means are employed to secure the scrimmage cap to the helmetand to hold the same in a designated position thereon so that the sameWill not slip or take a position which may impair its usefulness.

Illustrative of fastening means which may be employed is a fasteningmeans shown at 10, which in the form shown is a strap 11 of such lengthas to cover the crown and sides of the helmet crossing the cap from oneside to the other and being riveted thereto as by rivets 12, 13 and 13a.

Secured to both of the ends of the strap and depending therefrom areelastic support members 14 and 15; such support members are providedWith hook means 16 and 17 which are secured to the ends of the elasticmembers 14 and 15 as best shown in FIGURE 3.

The hooks 16, 17, are, as shown in FIGURE 1, adapted to be hooked intothe car apertures 20 and 21 of the helmet to secure the scrimmage capthereto. Other fastening means may be employed for fastening the cap tothe helmet and may be mounted on the helmet in various ways, as will beobvous to those -skilled in the art to which this invention appertains.

When the cap is assembled on the helmet, as shown in FIGURE 1, the sameforms a cushioning member to protect the helmet against damage andprotect both opponent and player wearer as Well. When the player is notengaged in scrimmage, as for a regular game, the cap can be removed fromthe helmet and the unscarred helmet used in the conventional manner.

In scrimmage it is diflcult to identify players on opposite teams whichare chosen for the purpose of the practice session and When caps of thetype shown herein are placed on the regular helmets of such players theplayers on the various teams can be distingushed from each other by thedifierent colors in which the caps may be made.

What I daim is:

1. A protective device for use in combinafion With 3. football helmet,said protective device comprising a hollow, generally hemispherical capof resilient material, an interor and exterior casing therefor, meansfor detachably securing said cap to a football helmet, said cap adaptedto extend over the crown of the helmet with a major portion of the samedisposed upwardly from the forehead edge of the helmet and covering aportion of the sides and back Of the helmet above the car regions of thehelmet, said means for detachably securing said cap to a football helmetcomprising fastening means including elastic support members dependingfrom the side edges of said cap and hook means carried by the lower endsof said support members for engaging the car apertures of the helmet.

2. A protecti-ve devce as set forth in claim I, said fastening meansincluding a strap extending across the crown of the cap and secured tothe exterior portion of said casing Whereby said cap and said fasteningmeans are removable as a unit by disengaging said hook means from thehelmet.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Hipkiss 23 Maillart 210 Sharkey23 XR McKissick et al. 23 Carlini --fl------------ 2:3

Derr 23 Pitman 23 Marchello 23 JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R.

